The crowd of over 2,000 was dressed in garnet and gold — bouquets of flowers and balloons decorated fences. And as the marching band’s song echoed through the fields, tears ran down the faces of Florida State University’s community.
Behind them, the Unconquered Statue and its burning spear.
Around noon Thursday, a gunman opened fire at FSU’s student union, killing two and injuring six. A vigil was held Friday at 5 p.m. to honor and mourn the victims.
“It's important to remember in moments like this that there is light, even in the darkest of times,” said Carson Dale, FSU’s student body president.
FSU campus employees 57-year-old Robert Morales and 45-year-old Tiru Chabba were identified as the two deceased victims. Both were fathers. All six wounded are expected to make a full recovery, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare staff said Friday.
Stuffed animals and candles were placed in the victims’ honor, decorating the fence surrounding the Unconquered Statue.
The alleged gunman is a 20-year-old FSU student and the son of a Leon County deputy. He was hospitalized after being shot by law enforcement for not complying with commands, Leon County officials said during a press conference Thursday.
The shooter’s mother has worked with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office for over 18 years. He was a long-standing member of LCSO’s youth advisory council and had participated in a number of LCSO training programs. He had access to his mother’s personal handgun, which was found at the crime scene, LCSO Sheriff Walter McNeil said during the press conference.
Zia Fan, a 26-year-old FSU music graduate student, said he still has many unanswered questions and feels angry the shooting happened.
“This happened in the places I know and the road I used to walk on,” Fan said. “There’s nothing much we can do as long as the guns are accessible to people. This thing could happen every day, anytime.”
Since Jan. 1, Florida has had six mass shootings. Several survivors of the Parkland school shooting were at FSU during Thursday’s shooting.
FSU alumna Emily Simons shared Fan’s frustration.
“There’s no words that really fix it so soon or make it feel better, especially finding out that someone that we know from work or someone that you’ve seen around or someone that your friend is friends with is gone,” Simons said.
Despite her dismay, she doubts change will occur.
In the shooting’s aftermath, government officials have expressed resistance to calls for gun control legislation. Similarly, President Donald Trump called the shooting “a shame,” but said he would not advocate for new gun legislation, according to The New York Times.
“These things are terrible, but the gun doesn’t do the shooting — the people do,” he said.
Maddox Fox, a 19-year-old FSU freshman, was taking a biology quiz less than a minute’s walk from the student union when he was startled by the violent clang of metal on metal.
“I was like, ‘Sh*t,’” he said. “The realization set in.”
A bullet hit the building.
The rest was nothing but a blur, Fox said. His class collectively leapt from their seats, pushing and searching for a way out. Only one exit faced away from the gunfire. Fox dashed away from the scene, unsure of where he was heading. There was only one thing he could think, he said. “I’ve got to get out here.”
Students piled into passing cars. Fox gave the window of a beige SUV a frantic knock, and the driver rolled it down skeptically.
“What’s going on?” the driver asked, as Fox recalled.
“Someone’s shooting up the school,” he said. “Can I come in your car and you drive us away?”
No more questions. More students tumbled into the backseat, and Fox found himself at the opposite end of campus, running again. He made it to a recognizable residence hall and sheltered with two friends.
“It doesn’t feel real,” he said. “You never think it’s going to happen to you.”
FSU’s campus will never be the same, he said.
Tori Grossman, a 22-year-old FSU finance senior, said she felt the vigil showed how FSU’s community remains strong.
“Everyone copes differently,” she said. “The best way is just to all come together and realize that you’re not alone, you still have a community, even though it felt kind of broken yesterday.”
Despite the fear she felt the day before, 22-year-old FSU nursing senior Emily Greenspan said she continues to feel safe on campus, especially thanks to the police’s presence and quick response.
“We talked to a police officer, and he asked how we were feeling, if we were feeling safe,” she said.
Police responded to the shooter within three and four minutes after the shooting began.
Greenspan said she felt similar support from FSU faculty when professors extended assignment deadlines and the university’s president sent out mass emails.
Olivia Coughlin, a 21-year-old FSU finance senior, said the outpouring of support following the attack has made her realize how strong FSU’s community is, including mental health counseling and food service FSU’s pantry put out statements assuring students they could continue getting food despite the shooting.
“It’s just the whole community — they provide so many resources,” she said.
Thursday’s shooting was not the first in FSU’s history. In 2014, three people were shot at FSU’s Strozier Library by graduate Myron May. Police responded to the scene two minutes after receiving a call about the first shot. Police shot and killed May as he reloaded his gun and tried to enter the library.
One student, Farhan Ahmed, was paralyzed from the waist down after a bullet hit his spine. Nathan Scott, a Strozier Library employee at the time, was shot in the leg, and an unnamed student was grazed by the bullet.
Gov. Ron DeSantis posted a video on X Thursday evening condemning the shooter’s actions and thanking law enforcement.
A pair of mourners hold each other during the vigil for mass shooting victims at Florida State University on Friday, April 18, 2025.
“This killer must and will be brought to justice to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “I want to also thank the law enforcement personnel who were on the scene both for the university as well as for the city of Tallahassee. They ran towards the danger. We’re all Seminoles today.”
FSU President Richard McCullough tearfully delivered the vigil’s closing remarks. He urged students to check on one another and be kind.
This is a painful time for FSU, he said.
“We will carry this loss with us. We'll carry it together, but we will move forward,” McCullough said. “And we’ll do it together.”
United States and Florida flags will be flown at half-staff as a sign of respect for the victims who have died until Monday, April 21 at sunset.
Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp contributed to this report.
Contact Vivienne Serret and Avery Parker at vserret@alligator.org and aparker@alligator.org . Follow them on X @vivienneserret and @averyparke98398.
Avery Parker is a third-year English and History major covering university affairs for The Alligator. Outside of reporting, Avery spends his time doting on his cats, reading, and listening to music by the Manwolves.
Vivienne Serret is a UF journalism and criminology senior, serving as the Fall 2024 race and equity reporter for The Alligator's Enterprise desk. She previously worked as a columnist and previously reported for The Alligator's university desk as the student government reporter. She loves karaoke and lifting at the gym.
